From the Editor

Abstract

From the Editor Dominic Rainsford This is a particularly international issue of Dickens Quarterly, with contributors based in China, Denmark, Japan, Israel, Latvia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. This raises a dilemma when it comes to name-order. Chinese and Japanese names (as well as various others not represented in the current issue) are normally presented with the family name first, in the languages in question. Western publishers, and Western society more broadly, have largely adopted the Chinese convention, referring to “Xi Jinping” and “Ai Weiwei,” for example, rather than “Jinping Xi” and “Weiwei Ai.” On the other hand, despite some official encouragement from the Japanese government, Western sources continue to Westernize the order of Japanese names: “Fumio Kishida” and “Yayoi Kusama,” for example, instead of “Kishida Fumio” and “Kusama Yayoi.” A few Western publications–for example, The Economist–now place family names first, consistently, in the case of both Chinese and Japanese individuals, but this is still rare in academic publishing. After consulting with contributors, Dickens Quarterly has decided to proceed, for the time being, with the pragmatic solution of following the predominant Western practice for Chinese and Japanese names, respectively. This was also the choice made by Athena Press, Japan, in the case of the collection Dickens and the Anatomy of Evil, reviewed in this issue. At the same time, Athena joined many other publishers in adopting the convention of placing family names in small capitals in the table of contents, so as to avoid confusion. We have decided to do the same, in the contributor notes and abstracts as well as in the table of contents (although not in bibliographic entries, or in references within the text of articles and reviews). We will keep this matter under review as wider familiarity with different conventions develops and in light of our contributors’ views and wishes. [End Page 137] Dominic Rainsford Aarhus University Copyright © 2023 The Dickens Society